‘Making the Australian Quilt: 1800 –1950’ is the first major exhibition of its kind to explore the rich and largely unseen works that constitute Australia’s quilt heritage. Exclusive to Melbourne, the exhibition includes more than eighty works from around the country. Key works such as The Rajah Quilt, and examples by renowned makers Mary Jane Hannaford, Marianne Gibson and Amelia Brown will be shown alongside a number of recently discovered pieces not exhibited before. They include quilts, coverlets, garments and quilted, patched and pieced works made in Australia or with a significant Australian provenance. The exhibition also features key 19th century English quilts that were brought or sent to Australia, informing and influencing the early quilting practices of local makers.

Annie Ellis

Australia 1870–1967

Dressing gown 1935

silk, wool, cotton, viscose, rayon, metallic thread

(a) 128.0 cm (centre back), 51.0 cm (sleeve length) (dressing gown)

(b) 242.0 x 10.0 cm diameter (variable) (belt)

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Gift of Mrs Annie C. Champion, 1989 (CT136.a-b-1989)

With works drawn from public and private collections throughout Australia, visitors to this unprecedented exhibition will have a rare opportunity to experience the aesthetic impact, technical skill and powerful storytelling capacity of this fascinating art form. The material used in the creation of the work is diverse and telling of the creative resourcefulness of their makers. Taffeta, velvet, furnishing fabric, dressmaking scraps, flour bags, possum skins, suiting samples and flannelette has each been transformed by the act of cutting, layering, piecing and stitching.

Unknown, Australia

Possum skin rug (late 19th century – early 20th century)

possum skin

250.0 x 180.0 cm

Private collection, Sydney

Many of the pieces were created within an intimate, private setting, yet have the ability to convey much more of their broader social and historical significance. The exhibition encompasses quilts made by men and women, those made within the context of leisure and accomplishment, created as expressions of love and family connection and those stitched out of necessity in an environment of constraint and hardship.

Mary Jane Hannaford

born England 1840, emigrated to Australia 1842, died 1930

Wedding quilt 1922

cotton, wool, applique, glass (beads), sequins

169.0 x 195.0 cm

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Gift of Miss Swanson 1997 (NGV 97.1336)

The exhibition will be accompanied by a full colour catalogue and has been co-curated by renowned quilt historian and collector Dr Annette Gero and Katie Somerville, Senior Curator Fashion and Textiles, NGV. Multimedia will be used within the exhibition space to provide a better understanding of the process of quilt making and the stories behind the works on display.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

A special opening weekend symposium exploring Australian quilt making leads the extensive range of public programs offered for ‘Making the Australian Quilt’. Other programs include talks, practical workshops and creative activities that allow a deeper exploration of the art, history and heritage of quilting in Australia.

About the Quilt Study Group of Australia

The aim of the Quilt Study Group of Australia is to promote interest and research into quilting in Australia. Members are committed to the study of quilts past and present - this study encompassing the social and historical context in which quilts were made. Every two or three years, the QSGA runs a seminar. Funding for hosting the seminar is available by applying to the committee of the QSGA.